Raised stop for ski boot of the pivoted ankle cuff type

ABSTRACT

A ski boot having a raised stop attachable thereto for limiting rearward movement, beyond that attainable in a conventional boot, of an ankle cuff which is pivotally attached in the region of a wearer&#39;&#39;s ankle to a lower shell of the boot. The lower shell has a raised back wall to which a quarter is secured, the top edge of the quarter being below the top edge of the back wall. Rearward pivotal movement of the ankle cuff normally is limited by abutment of the lower edge of this cuff against the top edge of the quarter. The stop has an arcuate thin tongue from the lower edge of which a perpendicular shoulder projects. When the tongue is inserted between the exterior surface of the back wall and the interior surface of the ankle cuff to such an extent that the lower surface of the shoulder seats on the top edge of this back wall, the stop presents a raised surface to further restrict rearward pivotal movement of the ankle cuff, thereby enabling the wearer to maintain greater control over a ski attached to the boot which he could not do with the more extensive rearward movement inherent in the lower height of conventional quarters.

United States Patent [191 Serko RAISED STOP FOR SKI BOOT THE PIVOTEDANKLE CUFF TYPE Richard A. Serko, 26 Craig St., Jericho, NY' 11753 [22]Filed: Aug. 31, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 285,493

[76] Inventor:

Primary Examiner-Patrick D. Lawson Attorney-Morris Kirschstein et al.

[57] ABSTRACT A ski boot having a raised stop attachable thereto forDec. 4, 1973 limiting rearward movement, beyond that attainable in aconventional boot, of an ankle cufi which is pivotally attached in theregion of a wearers ankle to a lower shell of the boot. The lower shellhas a raised back wall to which a quarter is secured, the top edge ofthe quarter being below the top edge of the back wall. Rearward pivotalmovement of the ankle cuff normally is limited by abutment of the loweredge of this cuff against the top edge of the quarter. The stop has anarcuate thin tongue from the lower edge of which a perpendicularshoulder projects. When the tongue isinserted between the exteriorsurface of the back wall and the interior surface of the ankle cuff tosuch an extent that the lower surface of the shoulder seats on the topedge of this back wall, the stop presents a raised surface to furtherrestrict rearward pivotal movement of the ankle cuff, thereby enablingthe wearer to maintain greater control over a ski attached to the bootwhich he could not do with the more extensive rearward movement inherentin the lower height of conventional quarters.

6 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures RAISED STOP FOR SKI BOOT OF THE PIVOTEDANKLE CUFF TYPE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the InventionThe present invention relates to an attachment for a ski boot having apivotally mounted ankle cuff, the attachment limiting rearward pivotingbeyond a predetermined position which is short of that permitted withoutthe attachment.

2. Description of the Prior Art Many currently marketed ski boots areprovided with ankle cuffs which are pivotally attached to low cut loweroxford type shells whereby to allow ankles of skiers to pivot in aforward direction. Such pivoting of the ankles is advantageous,especially during downhill skiing, since it allows the centers ofgravity of the skiers to be shifted towards the fronts or tips of theskis, thereby giving the users better control over the movement of theskis.

However, because a pivoting ankle cuff is able to swing forwardly, italso is able to pivot rearwardly until a bottom rear edge of the anklecuff abuts the projecting top edge of a quarter which is attached to therear wall of the lower shell. Unfortunately, in a conventional boot ofthe pivoted cuff type well before the ankle cuff abuts the top of thequarter, the center of gravity of the skier has shifted so farrearwardly that he may lose control of the skis.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 1. Purposes of the Invention It is an object ofthe invention to provide for a conventional boot of the pivoted cufftype a readily insertable attachment that will further restrict rearwardpivoted movement of an ankle cuff.

It is another object of the invention to provide a simple inexpensiveattachment which can be quickly secured to a ski boot so that therearward movement of a pivotally attached ankle cuff can be furtherlimited whereby to improve the performance of an as-bought boot.

Other objects of the invention in part will be obvious and in part willbe pointed out hereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention pertains to anafter-market modification of a certain type of ski boot to wit, onehaving an ankle cuff pivoted to a lower shell. In such a boot rearwardmovement of the ankle cuff is limited by abutment of the rear edge ofthe cuff against a projecting quarter attached to the rear wall of theshell. Frequently this limitation is insufficient because, due to it, incertain skiing postures so much of a skiers weight is effectivelyremoved from the tips of the skiis that a degree of control is lost withconsequent possible detrimental effects. Pursuant to the presentinvention rearward movement is further restricted in an as-bought bootby use of a supplemental stop. The stop includes a transversely curvedtongue from the base of which a perpendicular shoulder projects. Thetongue is insertable between the cuff and the back wall of the lowershell with the shoulder resting on the quarter thereby further limitingrearward pivoting movement of the cuff relative to the shell so that theskier automatically will maintain better control over his skis.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the accompanying drawings, in whichis shown one of the various possible embodiments of the invention,

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of an as-bought ski boot having thedefect aforementioned and of an attachable stop, before the stop issecured to the boot to alleviate said defect;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation view of the ski boot and stop after the stophas been secured to the boot; and FIG. 3 is a fragmentary enlargedcross-sectional view of the boot and stop taken substantially along theline 3-3 of FIG. 2.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now in detail to thedrawings, a standard pivoted cuff type ski boot 10 is shown. The boothas a two-part upper 12 to the bottom of which a sole 14 is affixed. Thesole has a heel 16. The upper includes a low cut oxford type lower shell18 typically made from fiber glass, plastic, stiff leather or metal. Theshell has a raised back wall 19 to which a quarter 20 is attached, thetop edge of the quarter being below the top edge of the rear wall. Theupper further includes an ankle cuff 22 usually made of fiber glass,plastic or stiff leather. A wrap around pad or sock 7A of a foamresilient type plastic is contained in the boot and projects slightlyabove the ankle cuff. The ankle cuff is connected to the lower shell forpivotal movement about a horizontal transverse axis that passes throughthe region of the wearers ankle. For this purpose the ankle cuff hasdownward extensions 26 on both sides thereof (only one extension isshown in the drawings) which extensions are pivotally secured, as byrivets 28, to the lower shell 18. The ankle cuff 22 includes front flaps30 for, with the aid of conventional fasteners (not shown), closing thefront of the boot upper. Additional conventional fasteners 32 also areused to close the front of the boot upper. The foregoing arrangementpermits the ankle cuff to pivot rearwardly relative to the lower shelluntil the rear edge of the ankle cuff strikes the upper edge of thequarter. Such pivoting occurs during various skiing maneuvers. Theextent of rearward pivoting in a conventional as-bought boot of thistype is quite extensive and allows such movement to a degree whichendangers the skiers control. More specifically when the skier tiltsback too far the distribution of his weight shifts and lifts too muchfrom the tips of the skis where weight is needed to maintain goodcontrol. This is particularly observable in down hill skiing.

Pursuant to the present invention the foregoing defect of an as-boughtski boot of the pivoted cuff type is remedied by supplying to the useron the after market a stop 34 which is readily and quickly attachablewithout special tools or skills to the boot and will, when attached,restrict rearward pivoting of the ankle cuff to an acceptable degree.Such stop is of stiff material such as metal or semi-rigid material suchas plastic. The stop is composed of a thin tongue 36 which is elongatedvertically and is transversely arcuate (see FIG. 3). The tip and sidesof the tongue are of reduced thickness for a reason soon to be apparent.The tongue has at its base an integral shoulder 38 the top and bottomsurfaces of which are substantially perpendicular to the length of thetongue.

To use the stop the tip is introduced into the space between the anklecuff and the rear wall 19, the reduced thickness of said tip and edgesof the tongue making such insertion easy to perform without tools orgreat strength or manual dexterity. The tongue is inserted into saidspace until the upper surface of the shoulder abuts the lower edge ofthe ankle cuff and/or the lower surface of the shoulder abuts the upperedge of the quarter (see FIG. 2). In such positions the stop acts aseither an extension of the said part of the ankle cuff or the said partof the quarter. In this position the stop holds apart from each other,in the rearmost pivoted position of the cuff, the lower edge of the cuffand the upper edge of the quarter, thus limiting to a greater degreerearward pivotal movement of the cuff with respect to the lower shell.By selecting a shoulder of suitable thickness, i.e., choosing a stopfrom a selection of different stops having shoulders of differentthicknesses, the limit of rearward pivotal movement of upper ankle cuffportion 22 can be selectively adjusted to the satisfaction of the user.

As shown in FIG. 3 the transverse shape of the tongue essentiallyconforms to the transverse shape of the rear of the pivoted cuff and therear wall 19; and the tongue can be sufficiently pliable to conform tothese shapes if there is a slight mismatch.

It will be appreciated that the stop is so dimensioned as to be snuglyreceived between the cuff and the rear wall 19 so that it will not slipout in use yet can be removed and replaced if desired.

It thus is seen that there is provided a stop for a ski boot forlimiting rearward movement of a pivoted ankle cuff which achieves theseveral objects of the invention and is well adapted to meet theconditions of practical use.

As various possible embodiments might be made of the above invention,and as various changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth,it is to be understood that all matter herein described, or shown in theaccompanying drawings, is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

Having now described the invention, there is claimed as new and isdesired to be secured by Letters Patent:

1. For use with a ski boot having a lower shell with a raised rear walland an ankle cuff pivotally secured to said shell to allow pivotalmovement of said ankle cuff in response to shifts in the weight of anindividual using the boot, said cuff in part overlying said rear wall,said boot having a quarter the upper edge of which is in the path oftravel of the lower edge of the cuff so as to define a rearmost pivotedposition of the cuff:

means for further limiting rearward pivotal movement of said cuff, saidmeans including a stop including a tongue and a shoulder in one-piecewith the tongue and projecting perpendicularly therefrom, said tonguebeing shaped and dimensioned to be insertable between the raised rearwall of the lower shell and the cuff and thereby have the shoulderdefine a more forward limit position to the rearward pivotal movement ofthe cuff so as to increase control over a ski attached to the boot, bylessening the shift of the users weight from the tip of a ski.

2. A limiting means according to claim 1 wherein the shoulder ispositioned between a rear bottom edge of said cuff and the top edge ofthe rear wall.

3. A limiting means according to claim 2 wherein the tongue has a shapeconforming to that of said cuff and rear wall.

4. A limiting means according to claim 1 wherein the tongue has a tipand side edges of reduced thickness to ease insertion of the tongueunder the cuff.

5. A limiting means according to claim 1 wherein the tongue is arcuate.

6. A limiting means according to claim 1 wherein the tongue issufficiently pliable to conform to the shape of the cuff.

1. For use with a ski boot having a lower shell with a raised rear walland an ankle cuff pivotally secured to said shell to allow pivotalmovement of said ankle cuff in response to shifts in the weight of anindividual using the boot, said cuff in part overlying said rear wall,said boot having a quarter the upper edge of which is in the path oftravel of the lower edge of the cuff so as to define a rearmost pivotedposition of the cuff: means for further limiting rearward pivotalmovement of said cuff, said means including a stop including a tongueand a shoulder in one-piece with the tongue and projectingperpendicularly therefrom, said tongue being shaped and dimensioned tobe insertable between the raised rear wall of the lower shell and thecuff and thereby have the shoulder define a more forward limit positionto the rearward pivotal movement of the cuff so as to increase controlover a ski attached to the boot, by lessening the shift of the user''sweight from the tip of a ski.
 2. A limiting means according to claim 1wherein the shoulder is positioned between a rear bottom edge of saidcuff and the top edge of the rear wall.
 3. A limiting means according toclaim 2 wherein the tongue has a shape conforming to that of said cuffand rear wall.
 4. A limiting means according to claim 1 wherein thetongue has a tip and side edges of reduced thickness to ease insertionof the tongue under the cuff.
 5. A limiting means according to claim 1wherein the tongue is arcuate.
 6. A limiting means according to claim 1wherein the tongue is sufficiently pliable to conform to the shape ofthe cuff.